The United States, Chapter 9, Section 3The Midwest, Leaving the Farm

Omaha

Kansas City

Mt. Rushmore

To help carve out the land, farmers made use of new inventions and

innovations, like the steel plow and barbed wire, along with. . .

…the windmill

andelectric drill

Small family owned farms were common up through the 1980s.

It was common for small family owned

farms to grow several different kinds of crops.

During the 1980s, the demand for farm products

decreased due to a country-wide

recession.First Farm Aid performers, 1985

Most family owned farms cannot afford either.

Large agricultural companies can afford to buy expensive land and expensive equipment needed for

large profits.

Large corporations make the large profit

by employingfewer workers

Ansel Adams

Computerized creamery, milking parlor

Computerized calf feeding

Corporate farms can afford the use of computers and machinery, which cuts back

on the number of workers they employ.

Midwest cities like Chicago began as centers of processing and

transportation

Cities like Chicago allowed farmers from surrounding areas to bring their

harvest and livestock, to be processed and shipped to markets.

Over time, the Twin Cities has had its fertile

farmland replaced with

suburbs.

A mixed-crop farm grows

several different kinds

of crops.

A recession is a decline in business activity and economic prosperity.

A corporate farm is a large farm that

is run by a corporation.